BRAZIL - Protesters rally in several cities

Demonstrations in Brazil on 16th August against the Roussef government

Demonstrations called by anti-government organizations and supported by opposition parties are taking place peacefully in Brasilia, Rio and other Brazilian capitals. In Brasília, protesters dressed in green and yellow marched to the Congress buildings where they remained rallied.

“Our purpose is to give people a voice. We have created a place for people to speak out and one of the things they want is to remove [President] Dilma [Rousseff] from power, whether by impeachment or resignation,” said Jailton Almeida, the coordinator of a movement called “Vem pra Rua” (the name would translate as “Take to the Street”).

Marilia Feitosa and Carlos Jacobino, aged 32 and 35 respectively, brought their three children to the demonstration. They say they want to teach their children to stand up for their rights from an early age. “We want Brazil to be a country with no corruption and with quality education for our children. We want an ethical country for them,” Feitosa said.

Under Rio's blazing sun, protesters occupied a stretch of one of the lanes of the beachfront Atlântica avenue in Copacabana, South Rio. With banners and posters, the crowd elbowed their way along the beach through pedestrians, bikers, and beach-goers.

The event organizers offered the crowds face paints and shirts printed with messages of “Down with Dilma”.

Some of the demonstrators support military intervention and some are even protesting against abortion. Viviane Picorelli, a student who is a member of a movement called “Deixar vir os pequeninos” (a translation for “Suffer the little ones to come”), joined the demonstration to call against legalizing abortion. One of them said “Rousseff's left-wing government has promoted abortion like none of her predecessors has in the country”.

Boilermaker Julio Peres was carrying a banner that read, “[military] constitutional intervention now!”. In his opinion, only military action could restore order in the country. “Our values are all upside down and people want to embrace communism here. [Military] intervention would allow us to overthrow members from all government branches and call new elections within six months,” he said.

Image editor John Santolin does not advocate impeachment or intervention. A former voter for the ruling Workers' Party (PT), he said he joined the protest to express his dissatisfaction with the government. “I don't endorse all the things people are saying here, but we can't go on this way. This country and this government lacks justice,” he said.

Similar demonstrations are underway in other state capitals including Belo Horizonte (Minas Gerais), Belém (Pará), Maceió (Alagoas), and Salvador (Bahia). In São Paulo, a protest begins at 2pm.